No doubt that was in part his intent.
I have re-read this, and I wonder if either AFP is shading this story, or if Mr. Gates might not have been a bit tipsy, because his quotes are really over the top. If President Bush were to make the same remarks, I believe the New York Times would probably fulminate until at least 2008 about them.
Was it not China that opted for Linux systems for their government?
Strike my guess, apparently the quotes were done in sobriety. Apparently Mr. Gates has indeed been on quite a tear about China on his trip to Europe:
China's the change agent for next 20 yrs: Gates
[SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2005 04:57:52 PM]
DAVOS: Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the world's richest man, is expecting the dollar to fall further while China continues its phenomenal growth.
"The old dollar, it's going to go down," he told a fringe meeting at the World Economic Forum late on Friday. "I am short of the dollar."
Echoing the views of many other executives in Davos, Gates said the size of the US trade and budget deficits was alarming.
"It's a bit scary. We are in uncharted territory having the world's reserve currency having so much outstanding debt," he said.
China, meanwhile, was an emerging powerhouse that would continue to drive down prices in the years ahead as its promotes what Gates described as a brand new form of capitalism.
"China is the change agent for these next 20 years, in terms of what's competitive and how things get done," Gates said.
"It's the most deflationary thing that ever happened because as you get more IQ in the planet designing good products you get these scale economies that are just phenomenal."
Bill Gates, World's Richest Man, Bets Against Dollar (Update1)
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Gates, the world's richest person with a net worth of $46.6 billion, is betting against the U.S. dollar.
``I'm short the dollar,'' Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., told Charlie Rose in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down.''
Gates's concern that widening U.S. budget and trade deficits are undermining the dollar was echoed in Davos by policymakers including European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
The dollar fell 21 percent against a basket of six major currencies from the start of 2002 to the end of last year. The trade deficit swelled to a record $609.3 billion last year and total U.S. government debt rose 8.7 percent to $7.62 trillion in the past 12 months.
``It is a bit scary,'' Gates said. ``We're in uncharted territory when the world's reserve currency has so much outstanding debt.''
A week before Group of Seven officials meet to discuss currency policy, Trichet repeated the ECB's concern over the dollar's drop to record lows against the 12-nation euro currency.
Euro Rally
The euro rose as high as $1.3666 per on Dec. 30 and last bought $1.3045. A stronger euro reduces the competitiveness of European exports and crimps growth among the nations sharing the currency.
``The governing council of the ECB has repeated a very, very short sentence, namely that the sharp moves upwards of the euro were unwelcome and that we thought they were counterproductive from the economic growth perspective,'' Trichet said at a Davos panel discussion today.
U.S. President George W. Bush is pledging to clamp down on spending to halve the budget deficit -- $427 billion in the 12 months through Sept. 30 -- during his second term. The administration releases its fiscal 2006 budget on Feb. 7.
The U.S. budget shortfall is ``the No. 1 risk, disregarding geopolitical risks'' to the global economy, German Deputy Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser said in a Jan. 27 interview in Davos. He urged Bush to present a ``credible'' plan for getting the deficit under control.
Criticism From China
Chinese central bank adviser Yu Yongding said in Davos the U.S. government should do more to tackle its record current- account deficit and ease pressure on China to loosen its currency's peg to the dollar.
``The U.S. should take the lead in putting its own house in order,'' Yu said. ``It's the root cause'' of global imbalances. ``China will make its contribution, but the world should not put disproportionate pressure'' on the country.
U.S. policymakers including Trade Representative Robert Zoellick defended Bush's deficit-reduction plans and blamed the U.S. trade gap on sluggish growth in Europe and Japan, which reduces foreign demand for American goods.
``One has to get the budget deficit down, but the question is how do you do it,'' Zoellick said today on the same panel with Trichet. ``It's at least our view that you want to do it by slowing the growth of spending.''
Buffett's View
Gates reflected the views of his friend Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has bet against the dollar since 2002. Buffett said last week that the U.S. trade gap will probably further weaken the currency.
``Unless we have a major change in trade policies, I don't see how the dollar avoids going down,'' Buffett said in an interview with CNBC Jan. 19.
Gates in December joined the board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company that Buffett runs. Forbes magazine's list of billionaires ranks Gates, 49, No. 1. Buffett, 74, is second, with more than $30 billion. Almost all of it is in Berkshire stock.
Gates described China as a potential ``change agent'' for the next two decades. ``It's phenomenal,'' Gates said. ``It's a brand new form of capitalism.''
Gates's $27 billion foundation in September received approval from China's foreign-currency regulator to invest as much as $100 million in the nation's yuan shares and bonds.
Microsoft's Gates bets against dollar
[published on Sat, Jan 29, 2005]
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Bill Gates, the world's richest person with a net worth of $46.6 billion, is betting against the U.S. dollar."I'm short the dollar," Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., told Charlie Rose in an interview in front of an audience of about 200 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down."
Gates's comments reflect the same view as his friend Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has bet against the currency since 2002. Buffett said last week that the country's trade gap probably will further weaken the dollar, which fell 21 percent against a basket of six major currencies between January 2002 and the end of last year.
"It is a bit scary," Gates said. "We're in uncharted territory when the world's reserve currency has so much outstanding debt."
The United States is borrowing to finance record budget and trade deficits. Total U.S. government debt stood at $7.62 trillion as of Jan. 27, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier.
Forbes magazine's list of billionaires ranks Gates, 49, No. 1. Buffett, 74, is second, with more than $30 billion. Almost all of it is in Berkshire stock.
The two have been friends for years, taking vacations together and playing online bridge. Gates in December joined the board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company that Buffett runs.
The country is importing more than it exports, and the government is funding part of its budget deficit by selling bonds to foreign investors, Buffett said in an interview with CNBC Jan. 19.
"Unless we have a major change in trade policies, I don't see how the dollar avoids going down," Buffett said.
Gates described China as a potential "change agent" for the next two decades. "It's phenomenal," Gates said. "It's a brand new form of capitalism."
His $27 billion foundation in September received approval from China's foreign-currency regulator to invest as much as $100 million in the nation's yuan shares and bonds.
Gates, holder of almost 1.1 billion Microsoft shares with a market value of about $29 billion, also owns about 3,580 Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway. His personal investment vehicle has reported holding $3 billion worth of stock in 14 companies, including cable provider Cox Communications Inc. and the Canadian National Railway Co.
I really don't care for the praise that Mr. Gates heaps on China's utterly repugnant system of "capitalism" as he incorrectly calls it, but he is entitled to his opinion.
He does appear to be putting his money where his mouth is, with an actual cash investment directly into China mentioned at the end of the second story. I don't imagine that when China takes Taiwan Mr. Gates will make even a token tut-tut.